Dhanraj Pillay is an Indian hockey player who served as the captain of the Indian hockey team. He was born on 16th July 1968 in Kirkee in Pune in Maharashtra. His parents are Nagalingam Pillay and Andalamma. He took part in the Junior National Hockey Tournament when he was 17 years old. In 1987 he played at Sanjay Gandhi Tournament at Delhi. He was noticed by the hockey coach Joquim Carvalho. Upon his request he joined Mahindra & Mahindra team at Mumbai. 

He also took part in the Champions Trophies of 1995, 1996, 2002 and 2003 and Asian Games of 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002. He served as the captain of the team that won the 1998 Asian Games and 2003 Asia Cup. He emerged as the highest goal scorer in the Bangkok Asian Games. He has also played for Indian Gymkhana of London, HC Lyon of France, HTC Stuttgart Kickers of Germany and Abhahani Limited of Dhaka. In 1995, he received the Arjuna Award. He received Padma Shri award from Government of India in 2000 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1999-2000. He took part in the World Eleven in the 1994 World Cup. He is noted for his superfast performance that he could cover 100m in just 11.6 seconds. He was given the Player of the Tournament award in the Champions Trophy tournament 2002 at Cologne in Germany.